NU: RE: Birth of the Seekers
by 26-Lord-Pain
Summary: AU, Mass X-Over, Naruto X Aqua. A 'Somebody' is a being born in the realm of light, and the worlds are supposed to be balanced, so would beings exist in the dark to mirror us? If so what would the be like when compared to us, what would there worlds be like? Also, as warriors of light exist to protect us, does the realm of darkness also have an equivalent? I would like to find out.


**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing within this worthless piece of fanfiction, it was written for the entertainment of all my many fans and of course myself. All rights and privileges belong to their respected owners and I make no claim to any of the characters, places, or entities within. That said, I am making no monetary compensation for this work, so would all lawyers kindly back the F off already!

00

It is a calm sunny day in Hi no Kuni. Within the country known to most as 'The Land of Fire' there is a village. Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Tree Leaves. For this one village, the sun shines brightly, the villagers mill about their daily lives, the merchants prepare their wares, the Shinobi go about their daily business, the Hokage is sneaking drinks of Saki while her assistant berates her, and a certain old pervert is doing his, ahem… 'research'.

All seems well and truly peaceful for the village for once in its tumultuous history. Yet for some this peace feels as if it were merely a prelude to something much bigger that is still yet to come. One of said people is a young blond, who rests just outside of the village, sitting upon the head of one of its Kage. He rests with his legs crossed beneath him, hands planted on the grass, and his eyes gazing silently at the village below.

The boy is none other than Uzumaki Naruto, Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, though he is technically only a Genin. Despite this he has seen a great deal in his surprisingly short career. Yet despite it all, the boy cares very little for many of those experiences, rarely boasting his rather significant accomplishments. Instead he's remained surprisingly humble, and even now, he looks out over his village, his home, silently.

With a sigh the blond idly lay back and closed his eyes. The gentle breeze and warm rays of the sun quickly worked their magic and he slowly drifted into a peaceful slumber. All the worries he had were put to the side, and instead he allowed himself to relax. Yet, from somewhere deep within the depths of his very soul, he hears a resounding thought echo in him. _**'This world is just… Too Small…'**_

00

 _From the twisted mind of 26-Lord-Pain_ …

00

A boy fell from a great height, hair golden as the rays of the sun and spiky like an urchin, his skin tanned deeply, with a strong athletic build, and eyes as blue as the clear sky. He opened said eyes to see himself falling towards a mirror image of himself, yet the mirror looked wrong somehow, different in ways he couldn't describe. He fell towards the mirrored image, and then seemed to fall through it into water.

Bubbles exploded out and surrounded him as he passed through the 'mirror', which he suddenly realized was merely a deep pool of water. He fell with calm acceptance as both light and shadows danced all around him. His eyes closed as he fell deeper and deeper into the pitch-blackness that awaited him down below. Yet he was not afraid, not for his life or his health, he was utterly calm.

As he fell he turned and soon was right side up, he blinked and felt his feet impact with something solid. A moment later he watched as black ravens shot up from the 'floor' and then went outwards and into the distance. The blond boy slowly blinked his eyes open and closed, then looked down to see the 'floor' he'd landed on was instead a stained glass mural of some kind.

The mural was strange in that he saw himself seemingly laying back, eyes closed in what looked like slumber. Behind his image were stylized silhouettes of the Kage-Tower and Hokage-Monument, while around the image of him were his two teammates Sakura and Sasuke, as well as his first Sensei Kakashi, but also the current Hokage Tsunade, and his other teacher Jiraiya. Circling the edge of the mural were a pattern of a white shuriken, the Konohagakure symbol in black, and a red spiral.

 _ **Welcome**_ …

Naruto started as the voice echoed out all around him. He looked left, then right, and all around for the voice before he heard a soft chuckle.

 _ **Now now, there's no need for that. Do not be afraid, I am but a humble guide**_ …

Naruto blinked at that and glanced all around for the voice once more. He then took a moment to inhale and then exhale a breath and calm himself down. Only once he'd fully calmed himself did the voice speak again.

 _ **Good, now there will be time for questions later. For now, there is much work to be done**_ …

Naruto frowned at that and crossed his arms behind his neck. He closed one eye and waited for the voice to continue.

 _ **First of all, how about a present**_?

The voice's suggestion confused the blond and it clearly showed. However he then yelped as the shadows around him seemed to twist and twine, reaching forward and forming into a shape. The shape hovered for a moment before purple-black smoke dissipated from what looked like a key… albeit it was certainly the strangest looking key he'd ever seen before.

It's head and teeth were black with a white outline and possessed a round cog-like shape. The handle was white while the guard was the same color and shape of the teeth of the key. The shaft was white and sported a silver colored gear in the center and a black chain shaped in an X around it. A second black chain in an X shape is wrapped around the base of the shaft as well. It had two eerie cat-like grey eye gems, one embedded in the head of the key and another in the hilt. It also had a small key-chain of some kind hanging off of it, comprised of three white gears and ending at a gear cut in half to make an S. ( _ **KH:BBS: Void-Gear**_ …)

 _ **Go on take it**_ …

Though the voice said to take it, Naruto was initially quite leery of the weapon. It had just appeared out of nowhere after all. Yet in the end something from deep within him urged him to just take the weapon. Slowly, tentatively, the blond reached out and grasped the handle of the weapon and pulled it back. He idly looked from the keychain, to the oddly key-shaped weapon a few times before he twirled it in hand and caught it.

He then paused and tried to find a good way to hold the weapon. He tried with both hands but frowned, he tried one handed, but that wasn't much better. In the end the blond tossed it in the air and grabbed it by the handle, having caught it in a reverse grip in his left hand. He smiled at the feel and looked up expectantly. All was silent for a short time before the voice spoke to him once more.

 _ **Excellent, now first and foremost should be movement**_ …

The voice noted and Naruto blinked. He then looked down as the 'key' shaped sword vanished and a circle of light appeared across the platform. The blond tilted his head at the strange circle for a moment, then glanced up for an explanation.

 _ **Well, what are you waiting for? Show me you can move**_ …

Ignoring the sass from the voice, Naruto rolled his eyes at the voice and then walked forward, arms crossed behind his head. He came to a stop on the edge of the platform only to take a step back as several stained glass pillars appeared in the darkness beyond. Each was flat and looked like a small wall, but rose high into the air. A moment later the blond saw several more glowing circles appear, one on each of the strange platforms.

 _ **How about something a little more**_ … _**difficult, shall we**_?

Naruto grinned at the suggestion, he then took a few steps back to get a running start and then leaped to the first pillar and right on the circle before he leaped to the next one. He did this again and again before he finally leaped off of the last pillar and landed on another platform. Upon doing so he watched dozens of black ravens form and fly off into the distance. He then glanced down and saw a new stained glass mural beneath his feet.

This one-featured three figures in armor, each sported an oddly designed helmet that completely concealed their faces, each had a large key-shaped sword of some kind in hand, though they looked different and they each held them a bit differently than the other, each sported a cape that seemed to warp into one another before producing a symbol that looked like a heart.

Behind the three figures was what appeared like an eerie desert with a number of key shaped weapons embedded in the ground like tombstones. Apart from them were three circles with three other people, one in a fully black mask with silver chin-guard, an old bald man with a silvery goatee and golden yellow eyes, and another older man with graying black hair in a high ponytail and a scarred face. Around the scene were several vaguely love heart shaped symbols in a repeating pattern.

 _ **Clearly you're very mobile; perhaps as time goes on you'll even come up with a few tricks of your own**_ …

The voice praised and Naruto grinned and crossed his arms behind his head. He then blinked when he felt the 'Key' shaped sword as it reappeared in his hand. He held it out in surprise and then looked up. He then focused downward at a sudden noise and watched as pitch-black creatures started to climb out of the floor. They were vaguely ant shaped but pitch black with clawed hands and bright yellow eyes.

 _ **Now then, have fun**_ …

With that the voice went silent as the creatures lunged forward like a swarm. Naruto leaped back with a yelp as they swiped and tried to claw at him. However he evaded their rapid, albeit imprecise, moves with surprising grace and ease. Slowly a smirk started to work its way across his face as he swung the key-shaped weapon in his hand and sliced one of the creatures in half.

 _'Whoa,'_ he thought with wide eyes as it vanished in a sudden plume of black smoke. He was broken from his reverie as the black creatures continued to attack. He soon found a sort of rhythm to their clumsy attacks, his lips curled into a mocking grin as he began to move to a beat that only he could hear. Dodge, duck, jump, flip, spin, twirl, he used every move he could think of and then more to move in and out of the way of the creatures.

He soon landed in a crouch and smirked when he saw a tangled pile of limbs and bodies, however the black creatures sank into the ground a moment later. Naruto blinked and watched in silence as they then leaped out of the ground at him. He ducked the first of them and then lashed out at the next, a plume of purple black smoke all that was left behind as he leaped back to avoid the next and kicked it into yet another.

He ducked under the next creature and into a forward slide with his key shaped weapon held forward. The blade sliced through the next unfortunate creature and the blond flipped over the next and cut it in half while in midair before landing on all fours. Only two of the black creatures remained and they seemed to skitter around him, each of them moving to either side of him before leaping up and at him.

Naruto merely twirled his blade at his side and then swung the weapon in a wide arch, instantly slicing both of the creatures in half. He smirked as the creature vanished in another plume of purple black smoke and then spotted another. He frowned, certain that he had already dealt with all of them before he shrugged. It really wasn't his problem, so with that he lunged and swung his weapon at the last of them…

 _ **Wait**_ …

Naruto's blade paused mere inches from the creature which tilted its head. The blond blinked and glanced around for the voice, before he looked back down at the tiny black creature instead. Unlike the others it wasn't attempting to attack him, instead it twitched and skittered about his legs for a moment before it started to climb his leg and then hung on his shoulder and idly swiped at his key shaped blade.

 _ **You see, there is no need to kill this one**_ …

Naruto hummed in response as he held out his arm and the black creature scurried out over it. It ended up on his key shaped blade and then turned to focus on him intently.

 _ **Now then, with the power within you, you can learn to control these creatures**_ …

The blond idly hummed and looked at the creature, it turned to regard him with its head tilted to the side. If he were honest he'd admit the thing was cute, but he was a bit more curious on why he'd want to command such a thing. It didn't look especially useful, nor powerful, or fierce, and he already had the toads as summons. Far as he could tell the spooky black creature would hardly be a match for his longtime friends and allies.

 _ **You doubt the power they can grant you**_ …

Naruto blinked at the sound of the voice and looked up.

 _ **If so, then perhaps a little demonstration is in order**_ …

With that the strange black creature in his hand changed in a burst of purple black smoke. Naruto yelped and held his hand up as purple black shadows wrapped around his arm and formed into a sphere of pure darkness in his hand. The blond held the ball out, idly noted that it was… swirling… spiraling… almost like. _'My_ _ **Rasengan (Swirling Sphere)**_ _!'_ he thought with wide eyes.

 _'But it's not a normal Rasengan,'_ he decided, eyes slowly bleeding an eerie yellow-gold, _'No… it's more like a_ _ **Yami-no-Rasengan, (Dark Swirling Sphere / Swirling Sphere of Darkness)**_ _'_ he thought to himself. He then noticed as another pillar rose in the far distance, a number of stained glass platforms floating between the one he was standing on and the one in the distance.

 _ **Now, use this power to reach your goal**_ …

Naruto blinked at the vague instructions then felt the sphere of blackness vanish from his hand. However his hand remained coated in the eerie black shadows as he held it out and reformed his key-shaped-sword. _'Really need a better name for this thing,'_ the blond thought before he looked to the distance. Eyes narrowed he ducked down and then lunged forward at full tilt, moving at sonic speeds.

 _'Holy shit!'_ the surprised blond thought as he leaped off of the stained glass platform at the last second. However he grimaced as he realized he had moved too fast and hadn't planned where to land. _'Shit shit shit shit shit!'_ he thought to himself as he held out his key-shaped sword. Somehow he knew what he needed to do, he didn't know how he knew, he just knew…

 _'I just hope that this somehow works!'_ he thought desperately. He closed his eyes and focused on that one desire, a desire to reach the next platform. He couldn't do it with his arms or hands so he had to put his faith in the key-shaped-sword and in the strange black power of those creatures. Mere moments later he heard a chime and a black length of chain shot from the tip of his key and impacted with one of the stained glass platforms.

His eyes snapped open and he gaped in shock at what had happened. _'The fuck is this?'_ the blond wondered only to grip his blade with both hands and move with the momentum created by the chain. He flipped into the air at the height of his swing and shot another chain from his blade at another of the stained glass platforms. This time he reared back with it and was pulled upwards.

He shot like a dart up and onto the platform before he kicked off of it towards the next one. _'Alright… I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!'_ the blond thought with a grin as he sent another chain out and pulled himself to the next of the platforms. Again and again he darted from platform to platform before finally he landed on top of the largest stained glass platform, which unlike the others, had a new scene upon its surface.

This latest scene was the strangest in his opinion, rather than people on its surface he instead saw five animals, a Snake, a Fox, a Leopard, a Bear, and a Unicorn. All five of the animals were intricately designed and colored in a specific circle with a fluer-de-lis between them, with an odd winged heart in the center, and a blue colored edge with stars lining the circles made up by the five animals.

 _'The hell is this?'_ Naruto briefly wondered as he stood up. The animals were only familiar in the sense that he knew what each of them were. The fox and snake were a bit worrying if he were honest, but he didn't know why the others were there at all. He didn't associate anyone with a bear, or a tiger, or a unicorn… especially not a unicorn. He paused his thoughts as he saw something move.

 _ **Very good**_ …

That same eerie voice declared and Naruto saw the four animals start to turn black. It started with the bear, then the snake…

 _ **You've learned much here**_ … _**but there is still so very much left to learn**_ …

Naruto felt a shudder crawl the length of his spine as the snake turned fully black and it moved on to the unicorn…

 _ **But I believe for now, it is time for you to rest**_ …

It declared as the unicorn was blacked out and the darkness moved on to the leopard…

 _ **However, before you leave, remember one thing**_ …

The voice echoed ominously in the nothingness that surrounded him. Naruto felt a shudder crawl the length of his spine and then watched in shock as the leopard turned black and the strange force moved on to the fox… but was stopped. Suddenly the fox was the only light left as the rest of the stained glass pillar began to turn pitch black.

 _ **Carry these words with you no matter the forces that will oppose you**_ …

Naruto felt his leg sink into the blackness as it consumed the stained glass platform. He tried to reach out yet the key-shaped-sword vanished from his hand and he was slowly grasped by millions of black tendrils and hands. He saw the light from the fox platform and reached for it, but to no avail…

 _ **There will always be defenders of the light**_ …

Naruto felt his vision fade as black tendrils wrapped around his face and pulled him down. It felt like some kind of sludge or muck, as he was pulled further and further into the abyss. The light started to fade, and all he could see was darkness…

 _ **But we few**_ … _**are the seekers of darkness and truth**_ …

00

 _Another story, another world_ …

00

Naruto awoke with a sudden start. He was still on the top of the Hokage Monument. He breathed a sigh of relief and fell back to lie down on the grass. _'It was all just a dream,' he considered then frowned to himself, 'or maybe… a nightmare,'_ he corrected himself. His eyes opened and flared yellow as he held his hand skyward. As he did he imagined the feel of the key shaped weapon he'd wielded only moments before…

 _'Why did it feel so… familiar?'_ he wondered to himself. _'Why do I miss it?'_ he continued to wonder. He blinked and then shook his head of such thoughts. _'Doesn't really matter all that much,'_ he decided and stared at the heavens. If only it where night he would be staring at the stars in the sky. _'Hmm… wish I could know what's out there,'_ he admitted to himself with a soft smile.

When he was but a child, long before he'd decided to try and become the Hokage of the village, he'd had another dream. It wasn't quite like his current dream, no, in some ways it was grander and yet also equally simply. It had been a desire to explore and travel, but not to other nations as most would assume. No, his dream had been far grander in scope and scale than something like that… It was…

 _'New worlds to explore, places to see, adventures to have, and friends to meet,'_ he thought as he closed his eyes and tried to imagine all the magnificent things he'd get to see if only he could reach those other worlds. _'It's… a nice dream,'_ he thought as he let out a tired sigh, _'but still just a dream, and probably impossible to achieve,'_ he admitted to himself as he felt the cool breeze brush against his skin.

For a moment, the blond let himself relax completely, allowed the breeze to brush against his skin, the sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling to drown out all of the worries from his mind. For a moment, he wasn't Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto Genin Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato and Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no youko, son of Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina…

He was just Naruto… nothing more, nothing less. He smiled to himself as he allowed himself to fully relax and a sigh passed his lips. For just a brief moment, he was that little kid again, the lonely orphan with dreams of traveling to far off distant worlds. He could recall those dreams vividly, the adventures and the friends he would make on them. And as he did, he felt a familiar fire burn within him.

That dream, as fantastic as it was, was also as close to impossible as they came…

 _'But I've done the impossible before,'_ he thought as he heard the trees rustle overhead, _'maybe if there isn't a way to explore them now… I can find or even make a way,'_ he considered to himself. _'Then I can see all the worlds I want, and no one and nothing could stand in my way,'_ he thought as his eyes flashed yellow gold. _'Yeah… someday,'_ he decided as he watched the clouds drift and the birds fly about…

"Naruto!" but was interrupted by someone calling his name. The blond quickly sat up and turned to the voice. There he saw his teammate Haruno Sakura approach him. He'd known the girl for years, and in his younger days he'd considered her the love of his life. Sadly for the blond his pink haired teammate had never really reciprocated those feelings, instead having latched onto their shared teammate Uchiha Sasuke.

The girl was a little older than he was, with fair skin and a strong build, jade eyes, and shoulder length bubblegum pink hair that was parted to frame her face. She wore her Hittai-ate in her hair like a hairband, a pair of black bicycle shorts under a light pink skirt with a tanto at the back of her waist, a bright red top with a zipper and white circle on her back, grey knee and elbow pads, a pair of black greaves and black Shinobi sandals.

"There you are!" the girl stated and came to a stop. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the blond with a scowl. The blond grinned nervously in response and idly scratched at the back of his head.

"Eh he he he, Ohaiyo Sakura Chan," he offered with a nervous grimace. He then let out a yelp as she grabbed his ear with a stern scowl.

"You lazy baka!" she exclaimed and caused the blond to flinch, "Lady Tsunade expected us to be in her office over an hour ago!" the girl growled as she pulled him to his feet. She then started to march off with the blond awkwardly following her as she retained hold of his ear. "I was worried that something might've happened to you and here I find you napping of all things!" she continued to complain while Naruto followed behind her.

Despite the pain she caused him Naruto allowed a grin to cross his lips. Some things just never seemed to change after all. It was nice, he liked the normalcy and he especially liked that Sakura was, if nothing else, easily predictable. He paused those thoughts however when he saw something move in the shadows. His eyes honed in on it a second before it vanished into the ground.

The blond blinked as it vanished and glanced here and there for it quickly. However Sakura pulled on his ear again, causing him to yelp as she all but dragged him away while still complaining. The blond followed quickly, yet something told him he'd missed something, something that would bring this day of peace to an abrupt end. _'Something's coming, something bad,'_ he thought with a serious expression…

00

 _ **Naruto Ultimate**_ …

00

The Hokage Monument of Konoha was, in some ways, as old as the village itself. The mountain itself however had been there long before the first Hokage claimed the land for his future village. Upon that mountain had once been a simple cave, which in time, was used as a shed for the crew of people who built the monument. However in recent years that same cave / shed had long since been abandoned…

That is, until, a blond haired boy stumbled across it by complete accident. He, at first, simply used it as a little fort or secretive hiding place. As time went by however he had also started to use it as a quiet place to think and plan. His plans included both simplistic pranks, as well as more complicated plans for seals. Some of said plans were left strewn about the walls alongside a number of notes and ideas.

However, this once sanctum was breached as a blinding light flared…

From the light came a masculine being, yet he was at the same time not entirely there.

'He' was a white creature, with golden crosses on it's chest and face like an odd mask / blind fold, a pair of white belts wrapped around his waist while a cloth hung from them, appearing to resemble a coats tail, golden bangles wrapped around 'his' wrists, while sturdy golden pauldrons cover his shoulders. Strangest about him would be the three white wings on his back, which almost appear to hover behind him. ( _ **Court Soulless: Inquisitor**_ …)

The strange 'man' silently stood there for a moment and turned his 'masked' face from side to side. He observed the many different drawings on the walls and felt a small amount of amusement. The cave felt familiar in some ways, almost like he'd been there before, and yet as he gazed at the drawings they almost seemed wrong to him. He could almost swear the drawings he was supposed to see were mere childish doodles… not plans…

"So then, the stories really are true," he remarked quietly, his voice deep and yet worn with age, "equal and opposite, that is the way of these worlds," he murmured as he looked away from the old drawings. He stepped forward, towards the back of the cave and then hummed softly. There at the back, untouched by man, beast, weather, or time, was a perfectly flat smooth wall of solid stone.

"Ah, here we are," the man mused as he placed a hand upon the wall. He ran his fingers across it for a moment then opened his hand and stretched out his fingers. Golden white light formed within his hand as he stepped back. He tilted his head to the side and then slammed his open palm against the flat stretch of stone. He then removed his hand and chuckled lightly as a keyhole of all things suddenly appeared.

"And so here it is," he whispered softly, clearly amused, "The way to the heart of this world," he declared with a hand raised. He then turned at a sound and spotted several familiar black creatures as they quickly scurried towards the Keyhole. "Begone!" he harshly commanded and with a swing of his hand a blinding light evaporated the inky black creatures into wisps of smoke.

"Irritating nuisances," he grumbled and turned back to the keyhole. However he paused when he spotted another of the creatures reaching inside of the keyhole, rather than causing the world to fall however, it merely… closed it? "What's this?" he whispered in interest as the keyhole vanished alongside the black creature. He placed his hand back on the wall, still able to feel the keyhole's power and then chuckled to himself.

"Of course, this world exists on the other side," he remarked as he cupped his chin and began to pace the floor. "On this side, the Heartless defend rather than attack," he continued to whisper and suddenly stopped. His body went rigid as he stood stock straight, now standing at an impressive height. "So they do not wish to consume… but to protect!" he realized and then turned back to where the Keyhole had been.

"Simply fascinating," he declared with a chuckle, "it seems the stories are true after all, equal and opposite, that is the way of these worlds," he rumbled and then stroked his chin. "I could spend decades studying these differences, and the similarities of these worlds to our realm of light," he commented and then hummed. He glanced at the flat stone wall and then shook his head.

"But sadly, that is not for me to decide," he whispered as he reformed the light over his hand and placed it onto the wall. "Our great 'leader' the Seraph wishes to breach passed these worlds of darkness, so that we might finally reach the true Kingdom Hearts," he murmured as he pulsed his power through the wall. He watched as wispy trails of black smoke wafted from the wall as the keyhole formed once more.

"Perhaps I will be allowed to study the intricacies of these worlds later, but for now…" he whispered as he snapped his fingers. Instantly two flashes of light appeared behind him and eerie feminine creatures with silver crosses formed at his side. "Let us begin our march forward," he declared and the two creatures lunged passed him into the keyhole. They vanished moments later and light seeped out of the keyhole and formed into the silhouette of a door.

The white winged old 'man' then turned from the keyhole, even as a door opened and light spilled out. The old man's hand began to twitch behind his back as shadows peeled away from the floor and walls. Yellow eyes loomed from the dark ominously even as more white beings began to form and follow him. The old creature idly swung his arm, light exploding forth and evaporating the many inky black creatures in his way.

"In the realm of the light, the darkness consumes," he murmured softly and then chuckled. His followers marched forward silently, some masculine, some feminine, all bearing the shape of a cross that more closely resembled a sword. "But here in the dark, the light blinds and burns!" he declared with his arms raised up. He then turned with a flourish of his 'coat' to face the many white creatures standing behind him.

"Now go forth! Show these denizens of the dark our power, cleanse them of their filth and allow them to bask in our light!" With a soundless cry, the white creatures moved passed the old 'man' and into the night sky. Yet the old man laughed lightly as he turned to watch the festivities, even as inky shadows writhed over his form. "Yet take caution, for the closer one gets to the light," he began as his body briefly turned inky black.

"The greater the shadows become!"

00

 _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ …

00

There was no real warning before the attack. There was no chance to evacuate, no chance to figure out what was going on. Naruto could only recall a brief splitting headache, nearly collapsing, and Sakura looking at him worriedly. Then it felt like all of hell had suddenly broken loose… or heaven… or purgatory… whatever it was that had those white winged creatures in it!

[ _ **And so it begins again**_ …] a voice echoed in his head. Naruto blinked his eyes as he felt… something… something stir all around him. He was a little out of it but realized he was in the Hokage's office. Tsunade was shouting at someone nearby while Sakura was at his side looking at him worriedly.

"S-Sakura-chan?" he questioned. Before the rosette could respond the door slammed open, a Shinobi ran inside with panting breaths.

"Hokage-Sama!" he declared and nearly collapsed on the spot. After a brief moment of panting he then stood up fully. "More white creatures have appeared in the stadium ma'am," he announced. Tsunade grunted in response and then slammed her hand against her desk with her teeth practically grinding together.

"Wonderful," she muttered and then looked to the side. An AnBu appeared in a plume of smoke and raised his head. "Kuma, put a team together and get down there!" she ordered swiftly. The bear-masked AnBu nodded his head and vanished in a swirl of leaves. 'I still wish I knew how to do that,' Naruto thought with a pout. "Sakura! Naruto!" the hokage stated and the two quickly stood at attention.

"Hai!"

"Baa-chan?"

"Sakura head to the hospital and see if you can help there," the busty blond ordered. The rosette gave a stiff nod and hurried on her way. "Naruto get out there with your clones and start helping civilians to safety," she ordered. Naruto nodded his head, and then leaped out of a nearby window and into the village. Tsunade let out a quiet breath as he went, while the blond himself landed in the streets with a frown.

"Right, time to work," he muttered under his breath and formed a T shaped hand seal. " _ **Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Mass Shadow-Clone Technique!)**_ " he exclaimed. Nigh instantly there was a massive plume of smoke as literally hundreds of clones appeared around him. "Alright boys! Fan out and get any civilians to safety!" the blond declared. The Clones raised their hands and gave a cry, before they leaped off as one.

"And no slacking off or pranks!" the blond called out after his clones as they left. With a sigh the blond then scratched at his hair, only to pause when a strange scent entered his nostrils. _'What?'_ he wondered then turned to a dark alleyway. He frowned for a moment and then slowly walked into the dark alley. "Hello?" he called out with a few glances to either side, "is someone here?" he questioned.

Yet nobody came…

"Maybe I'm just imagining things," Naruto murmured softly. He then paused at a sound and turned instantly. However he saw nothing but shadows, and so scratched his head with a tired side. "Great, now I'm jumping at shadows," he muttered to himself. He then frowned and turned back around. "No time for this, I've got a job to do!" he declared and hopped out of the alley and into the village proper.

As he did, an inky black creature wandered out from the shadows in the alleyway and silently watched him leave. The tiny creature tilted its head, seemingly innocently, before it turned around. As the creature did, a man dressed in black walked from the shadows and sat down next to it. The man was dressed in a black coat, his features hidden in shadow as he glanced from the creature to the retreating blond…

"Well well well," the man began as he held his hand out. The tiny black creature crawled onto his arm and he lifted it up curiously. "Nope, not the right time, but man this place sure is wicked, oh and things… are different, oohh, what is this I've found?" he wondered aloud. He then held out his other arm to allow the tiny creature to crawl along his back. After a moment he laughed and hopped up to his feet and brushed his black coat off.

"Well whatever it is, I still have a little ways to go I think," he noted as he started to pace the alley for a time, then reached up and cupped his chin. "Hmmm… although now that I stop to think about it, if I hung around to check this new development out… no one could really blame me for it," he mused to himself. With that he looked to the tiny shadow on his shoulder and tilted his hooded head to one side.

"And I think you'll be able to help me with a little… experiment," he mused to himself. The tiny shadow tilted its head uncomprehendingly while the tall man in black let out an amused chuckle. "Well what do you think of that idea, huh lil guy?" he questioned curiously. The creature of course didn't reply but the man clapped his hands together brightly all the same. "Right then! Lets do this!" he declared laughingly…

00

 _ **RE**_ : _**Birth of the Seekers**_ …

00

Naruto ran through the village looking for any remaining civilians. His clones had already dispelled for the most part giving him a decent idea of where in the village they had already cleared out. _'Here's hoping that's everyone,'_ the blond thought to himself. However as he walked through the village he felt an every growing sense of unease slowly worm its way into his heart.

 _'It's… quiet, too quiet,'_ he noted with worry. He heard nothing in the village, no sounds of battle, no screams, nothing but dead silence. "Where is everyone?" he wondered to himself and then ran to the nearest building and quickly scaled the side of it to land on the roof. "Hello!" he called out to the seemingly empty village, a frown slowly working its way across his face.

"There's… no way I'm the only one here," he assured himself with a quick shake of his head. The village was being evacuated, sure, but there was no way they could clear it out this quickly. _'Maybe they're all in the shelter?'_ he considered and then nodded his head. "Yeah, that has to be it," he decided with a firm nod. He then blinked when he saw something white moving in the distance.

"Or… maybe they're over there," he considered and then leaped across the rooftops to reach where he'd seen the white being. He flipped off of the building and landed in the merchant district when he did, then looked around for who or whatever it was he'd seen. 'Still nothing,' he thought to himself. He slowly made his way through the merchant district, eyes kept alert as he sought out anyone else in the empty village.

"Hello!" he called out with his hands clasped by his mouth. "Is anyone else here!" he called out once more. Still no one answered, and the blond found himself ever alone. "I don't like this," he whispered to himself as he continued on. He then paused as he looked down and saw a shadow creeping up behind him. He then ducked to the side as a sword nearly lopped his head off. _'The hell!?'_ Naruto demanded as he looked up.

Looming over him ominously was a tall masculine being with a crescent shaped hallo carrying a sword and shield in what looked like a pure white body sleeve. It bore a bolted on sword-shaped cross on it's chest and face, the cross on its face acting as some sort of eerie blind fold given it's position over where the creature's eyes would be. It had a single billowing wing with pure white feathers, and a few bits of silvery armor here and there. ( _ **Soulless: Crusader**_ …)

"S-Soulless… Crusader…" Naruto whispered softly. However he then grit his teeth and grasped at his hair in a pained grimace. "M-My head!" he hissed. He clenched his eyes shut even as the Crusader marched towards him. It came to a stop soon after and looked down at the blond imperiously, till it's 'covered' eyes fell to the bangle still on the blond haired youth's wrist.

The tall burly figure glared down at the blond, or he assumed it did given that the blindfold / mask / cross it wore concealed its eyes. Naruto grunted as he heard the creature rear back and then lunged to the side as it swung its sword at him. He ducked into a roll and came out of it with a grimace, one eye closed while the other glared at the white clad creature.

 _'I don't know what that thing is… but it's no man,'_ Naruto thought as he watched the creature warily. His instincts all but screamed at him not to stay so close, but he wasn't exactly known for being the brightest bulb among the village. Besides that his curiosity wouldn't allow him to just run away without learning something from the creature. Said creature gave a low rumble as it suddenly leaped into the air.

Naruto looked up as it beat its single wing to rise higher into the air and then held its shield forward. Light began to shine around the being; causing Naruto to hiss in irritation, before the creature suddenly surged forward like a bullet. "Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed and then leaped out of the way of the creature. It didn't turn to intercept, instead it slammed into and then through the wall of the nearest building.

Naruto looked on with wide eyes as the white creature came marching out of the building, idly kicking the wall out of it's way as it did. The building collapsed behind it and Naruto scowled darkly. He flipped back to his feet and pulled a Kunai from his leg pouch. His left fist clenched at his side and an eerie shadowy energy began to twitch and writhe around his wrist and arm.

"Okay you ugly sack of shit! No one destroys my home and gets away with it!" the blond snarled. His eyes flared darkly and the white creature held its shield forward and then leaped forward and jabbed its sword at the blond. However Naruto quickly ducked to the side and tried to stab the creature with his Kunai, only for it to break against the being. The blond paused and blinked in surprise.

"Oh… well that's just not fair at all," he muttered softly.

The white creature clearly didn't give a damn about fairness, instead it gave a grunt as it slammed its shield into his side and sent him flying back. Naruto grunted in pain and gave a cry as he crashed through the window of a shop and landed on his back with a low groan of pain. "Ow…" he murmured and then sat up with a hand to the side of his head. "Fuck… that hurt," he muttered as he stood up slowly.

He then shook his head and formed a t shaped hand seal. " _ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique!)**_ " he snarled as a clone appeared at his side. Together the two blonds formed a glowing sphere within his hand. As the white being marched towards them Naruto's clone dissipated and the blond narrowed his eyes. With a snarl the blond haired youth lunged at the white winged being.

The Soulless Crusader silently stalked forward without any fear even as the blond slammed the attack into its head. " _ **RASENGAN**_!" he roared out, only to widen his eyes as the swirling sphere did little to the being. "The fuck?!" he demanded only for the creature to bat him away again. The blond yelped as he was sent flying, he bounced off of the ground once and then landed on his stomach on the road.

"Oh c'mon, that's just cheap," he grumbled under his breath. With a grunt the blond pulled himself into a seated position and idly rubbed his head with his left hand. "Okay, so weapons don't hurt it, and it shrugged off the Rasengan like it was nothing. No problem," he assured himself with a bitter laugh. "Yeah right," he mumbled and then looked up as the Soulless continued to approach him.

With a frown across his lips the blond rose up to his feet with narrowed eyes. "Now's the time to think. Weapons and Jutsu don't work, so what can you do to take this teme down already?" he wondered to himself, only to pause. He blinked and looked to his left arm and saw a familiar tiny black critter. The tiny ant like creature looked at him with wide yellow eyes and his blue eyes widened.

"You…" he whispered softly and then looked up at a roar. The Soulless seemed… agitated? Yeah, that was the word for it. Its wing was stretched out and it ran towards him with clear fury. Naruto idly felt the tiny shadow hop onto his hand, and then noticed a familiar ball of darkness form in the palm of his hand. "Wait, this is," he breathed softly and then looked back up at the Soulless.

The white being swung it's sword back and lunged forward with its shield held at the ready. Naruto on the other hand clenched his fist, dark energy swirling around it as he narrowed his eyes on the creature angrily. "Alright then, Teme," he growled as he opened his hand and a dark swirling sphere of energy formed in his palm. "Lets see how you like this!" he growled as he lunged forward as well.

The Soulless Shield blocked the shadowy ball of energy for a moment, only for it to shatter as Naruto pressed forward. The Soulless staggered back and the blond grinned as he slammed his left fist into the Soulless' chin, sending it flying back. "Ha! How'd you like that!" the blond crowed triumphantly. However the Soulless leaped back to its feet and then thrust its sword into the air.

Instantly a beam of energy shot into the sky, and from the sky even more of the winged creatures descended upon the village. Naruto blinked at that and then growled low in his throat as he glared at the Soulless in irritation. "You cheap fucking Teme!" he snarled, only to yelp as more Soulless formed, these feminine in design with a single sword as their left hand and what looked like daggers replacing their feet. ( _ **Soulless: Prism**_ …)

"S-Soulless, Prism's," the blond whispered and then shook his head. "Getting really tired of that," he mumbled quietly. After a moment to clear his head he looked from the approaching Crusader to the two Prisms that were flanking him and sighed. "Oh great, now you've got backup," Naruto muttered and then took a quick glance around, "so where's mine?" he murmured as he took a stance across from the now three Soulless.

The blond haired boy was given no time to react or even think before the Prisms were suddenly on him. The two had managed to pin him to the nearest walls by stabbing through his shoulders with their sword arms. "Ouch," he whispered softly and then roared out and grabbed the Prism on his left side with his shadowed arm. "Get off of me!" he snarled as he slammed the Prism into her fellow and then tossed them both aside.

The blond stumbled forward after that and hissed in pain, the stabs at his shoulders bleeding profusely. With a grunt he tried to get up only for the Crusade to charge and stab him through his stomach. With a blink of surprise the blond looked down as the Crusader lifted him up with one arm and then tossed him away. The blond bounced several times before he finally came to a stop, arms akimbo and face in the dirt.

"This… seriously isn't my day," the blond muttered as he placed a hand to his stomach. He could feel a hole in his guts from where the Crusader had stabbed him. A low chuckle echoed from his lips as he closed his eyes. "Kami-Sama… why do I have to do this alone?" he wondered to himself. He then shook his head and lifted his head to look up, the Crusader and Prisms approached him slowly and with ill intent.

"I can't… can't fight them on my own," he realized as he looked all around for someone, anyone else who could help him. _'Where… is… everyone… else?'_ he wondered to himself. His eyes then glanced upwards to see a bright light slowly stretching across the sky. It grew brighter and brighter, and something seemed to be there at the center of that light, hidden beyond its peerless glow…

"This world… has fallen…" he whispered as he saw even more Soulless form all around him. Some were bigger, some were smaller, but they came in a number of different shapes. "This world… has been claimed… in the name… of the light," he continued as he felt a burning rage boil within him. "All shall fall… all shall be cleansed," he spoke softly, only for his eyes to flare bright yellow gold.

"But even so… we won't go quietly… not to the light… and certainly not without a fight!" he roared furiously as he slammed his fists into the ground. Instantly a pool of darkness formed beneath the blond haired youth and spread outwards. His body began to dissipate and turn to sparks of light, a glowing love heart formed above the shadows, as a certain crimson energy surged outwards and bowled over all of the Soulless around him.

Dark tendrils then grasped the glowing love heart tightly before it was pulled into the dark pool. As it vanished thousands of inky black creatures surged from the dark pool and into the mass of Soulless. The massive swarm of inky black creatures spread far and wide across the world. They found each and every remaining person on the world and claimed them, pulled them into the dark to form ever more of their number as they continued to spread and attack.

Soon their numbers had quintupled and they surged back to Konoha, looking more like a vast ocean of inky black creatures scurrying and climbing one another as they approached the fallen village. As one the Dark Dwellers washed over the village in an attempt to turn back the Soulless soldiers. They surged and twisted and turned all around, bowling over every Soulless they could, ripping tearing and clawing at the different Soulless.

Yet it was all for naught…

High above the world lowered a grand fortress. It was vast and grand, looking more as if it were a cathedral than anything else. Forged from what appeared to be marble, with stained glass windows. A bright golden hallo of energy hovered over it while hundreds of billowing white wings kept it aloft. The fortress lowered slowly and the Dark Dwellers turned in the air and surged up towards it.

The 'Demon Tower' rose higher and higher into the air only to be stopped by a vast shield of hexagonal light plates. The Dark Dwellers were bounced back, yet they were undeterred by their minor failure as they turned in a wide arc and approached the fortress once more. They warped and weaved around one another as they approached, only to slam into the shield once more and be knocked back.

The fortress itself seemed to glow brighter and brighter, the hallo hovering over it shining with more and more power each and every time the Demon Tower slammed into its shield. Yet the near mindless Dark Dwellers cared not, they did not notice nor did they comprehend the danger that they were approaching. Instead they urged onwards, towards the great fortress of the Soulless.

As they did they slammed into the shield a final time and the shield exploded outwards, knocking the 'Demon Tower' apart. The millions of tiny Dark Dwellers fell further and further to the ground, slamming into the ground and forming millions of dark pools. From these dark pools even more of them began to form and rise outwards into the world. And yet the wings of the fortress suddenly unfolded.

From its many wings feathers and arrows made of pure light were sent flying at the ground below. Each feather and arrow that touched the Dark Dwellers caused them to evaporate and turn to a shadowy mist. Finally dozens of enormous Dark Dwellers began to appear and look up towards the massive fortress. Yet a moment later, the Dark Dwellers were dispelled as a bright beam of light shot up and down from the fortress and burrowed deep within the world.

On a familiar monument outside of the village, a familiar Soulless, the Inquisitor, watched on with amusement as their forces pushed the darkness back. "As is to be expected on this side of the dark margin," the hunched over Soulless mused to himself and idly rubbed his chin. "Though, where did all those Heartless come from I wonder?" he questioned aloud, and then shook his head.

"It's no matter," he decided as he gave a beat of his wings and rose into the air. "We have won the day, and this world is now ours!" he declared with his arms outstretched as the light began to spread outwards, slowly covering the world in its glow. "And with it our grand campaign can begin, and we shan't stop!" he stated as he raised his hand high into the air, "Not until Kingdom Hearts itself rests firmly in our grasp!" he exclaimed as the light completely engulfed him and the world around him…

00

" _It is said that it is horrible when darkness consumes the heart, but even more terrible are those blinded by light, for they commit atrocities in the belief that they are right,"_ ?

00

 **What's** … **what's happening to me**?

 **Falling** … **falling** … **into darkness** …

Naruto's own jumbled thoughts echoed within him as he found himself in a world of vast, endless darkness. He could see nothing to any side, no light, nothing. He felt weightless as he continued to fall, and yet he felt no fear, his eyes closed as he leaned back and fell ever further into the dark void.

 **Yet at the same time** … **I'm not afraid** …

He thought as he felt dark tendrils wrap around his body and pull him deeper still into the dark. His eyes opened only briefly, replaced by amber gold orbs that slowly bled away any other color within his once oceanic eyes. As they did, millions more eyes opened in the dark, all glowing the same bright yellow gold as his own. A smile slipped across his lips as his body melted away, a pair of chained shackles forming on his wrists…

While the rest of him was replaced by something else…

 **Because** … **at least here** …

 **In the depths of darkness** …

 **I'm no longer alone** …

00

 _ **Prologue**_ : _**Dark Decent**_ …

00

She'd walked for so very long through the dark depths. Her name was Aqua, Keyblade Master and Spell-Weaver, as well as the once student to Master Eraqus. The girl with short blue hair and even bluer eyes walked through the depths. She was of average height, with a thin wiry build, despite her less physical use of her abilities. Her master had been adamant that all his students be physically fit at the very least.

She was dressed in a dark halter top and corset, a pink length of cloth forming an X over her torso with a silver heart shaped emblem in the center, a pair of black bicycle shorts, black thigh length stockings with armored shoes, white sleeves that belled out at her wrists with armor on her biceps, blue lengths of cloth hanging from her waist with two white sashes wrapped and tied around her waist.

Every step she took ever further into the depths of the dark felt like they should be her last. Every step felt as if a lifetime had passed in the realm of light, as if her friends were to be lost to her forever. She'd been fighting for so long against the Dwellers of Darkness, they came at her without pause, always hunting her. With a soft sad sigh she found herself wandering into a wide clearing in the middle of the depths.

As she wandered into the clearing, something in the dark depths suddenly stirred.

 _ **'Light,'**_ the voice whispered amongst the darkness. _**'No… light… should… be… here… why?'**_ the thoughts questioned within the dark depths. _**'Do… they… return…'**_ it wondered as a pair of baleful red eyes opened. _**'Soul… Less… those… blinded… to… light… destroyed… my… world… hunt… them… kill… them… the light… is… our… enemy,'**_ it thought as it rushed through the dark depths and towards the clearing.

Master Aqua heard something stirring around her; she turned to either side as she saw something move about in the dark. Her master's keyblade formed in her hand and she gripped its hilt tightly as she watched a pair of red eyes leap about the darkness. Red Eyes loomed in that darkness, watching her menacingly. _'Is that an Unversed, here?'_ she wondered to herself as she looked for the creature.

Behind her its baleful crimson eyes flared and it lunged out of the darkness for her. She turned, but only in time to catch the thing and be knocked to the ground. _**'Weak,'**_ the creature thought as it turned and lunged at her once more. Aqua quickly picked herself up and then launched a fireball at the creature from the end of her keyblade. Only to watch as the creature leaped over it and her as well.

"This monster… this is no unversed," she decided as she watched it disappear amongst the twisted landscape. "Just another Dweller of Darkness," she whispered softly as the baleful red eyes loomed within the darkness, silently watching her every move. The thing watched her, its eyes solidly locked onto the key shaped weapon in her hand. As it looked at the key, there was a prickle at what remained of its mind… a memory…

 _ **'The… key… key… key… blade… Keyblade!'**_ it thought, memories resurfacing in the depths of its mind. _**'I… know… that… key…'**_ it thought as it slipped all around the blue haired girl silently and then leaped out from behind her. The bluenette swiftly cartwheeled out of the way of its wicked claws and then quickly turned and shot three fireballs at it in quick succession.

However the creature leaped out of the way and back into the shadows. _**'It… does… not… belong… here…return… it… to… where… it… belongs…'**_ the voice in its mind declared firmly. Moving swiftly the creature lunged from the shadows at the woman once more. It twisted into a wicked roundhouse slash but the girl cartwheeled out of the way to unleash her flames on it once more, only to suffer a slash that knocked her away.

Despite being hit herself the flames managed to disperse the darkness around the creature and reveal it to the young master. _'It looks so different to the others I've seen here,'_ she realized with a bit of apprehension. _'More colorful, and something about its eyes,'_ she noted, only to shake her head and grip her keyblade tightly. _'No, I can't let myself be distracted,'_ she thought to herself and faced the creature.

The Dark Dweller had a large lupine look to its body, and stood nearly double her size while it was still on all fours. It had a somewhat triangular head, with a sharp maw, two bright yellow eyes with blue marks, these features were almost par for the course among the Dark Dwellers, but where it was strange were the purple talons on its four 'paws', and wild 'mane' of curled red tendrils that stretched from it's head and back.

Strangely though it had a pair of shackles on its forward wrists, the 'paws' of which more closely resembled a pair of hands with a thumb. From the shackles was a length of chains that wrapped around its forearms tightly, but each ended with a wicked hook that dragged along the ground. ( _ **Pureblood Heartless: Dark Hide**_ ….)

 _'What is,'_ she briefly wondered only to leap back as the creature leaped at her with a roar. _'No time to think about that right now,'_ she decided as she flipped her Keyblade forward and unleashed a burst of ice at the great beast. The Dark Hide leaped out of the way of the ice and into the air, only to fling its chains down towards the Bluenette and then pull itself down like a spinning buzzsaw.

Aqua's eyes widened and she lunged out of the way with a start then turned to see the ever-grinning creature lunge at her once more. _'This one, it's far more powerful than any of the other Dark Dwellers I've fought,'_ she realized as she ducked and dodged around every furious swing of the Dark Hide's claws. She grit her teeth and flipped back and sent several fireballs flying at the creature only for it to leap back and open its maw.

A spark of red formed between its open jaws for but a second before it expanded into a wide fireball that quickly flew at her. It engulfed her own fireballs and caused her to leap up into the air and then use her magic to make a second step to leap even higher and avoid the ensuing blast. While in the air she found herself all but defenseless as the Dark Hide appeared and grabbed her key with its teeth.

She grit her teeth as the Dark Hide dragged her to the ground and started to swing her from side to side, as if it were trying to pry the Master Keeper from her grasp. _'Not going to happen ugly!'_ she thought firmly as she managed to get her footing and then cast a lightning spell. The Dark Hide let out a screech and leaped back from the girl. The Dark Hide roared in fury, its eyes suddenly glowing bright crimson once more.

The massive Dark Dweller leaped back from the Bluenette and then lunged forward in a charge that the girl only just barely managed to leap out of the way of. She then turned to see the creature vanish into the shadows around her. She looked all around for the Dark Hide, looking for even the smallest hint of its presence. What she didn't expect was for it to launch itself from the darkness like some kind of rocket.

With a cry of shock she cartwheeled out of the way, only to turn with wide eyes as it launched itself at her yet again. "Oh you have got to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath as she started to avoid the Dark Hide's vicious assault. Finally the Dark Hide leaped at her from above and brought its claws down. However she rolled backwards to avoid it, only for her eyes to bolt open as it shot several small balls of darkness at her.

Yet that wasn't the end of it as the balls of darkness started to pull inwards. _'It can create gravity wells?'_ Aqua internally wondered to herself. If she were honest she was actually very impressed. Gravity Magic was among the more difficult branches of magic that existed. Sure, all Dark Dwellers seemed to have a knack for certain spells, but this was increadibly controlled. Too much so to be just a random ability it had access to.

 _'But that begs the question of how magic would even function for such a creature,'_ she admitted to herself. Her studies into the mechanics of magic weren't the most... in-depth after all. However, she shook off such questions as she instead focused on getting out of the dark-wells immediate area. She then looked up as a shadow fell over her and quickly leaped out of the way as the Dark Hide tried to pounce on her as its attacks suddenly exploded.

With slow gasping breathes the girl watched as its body came down on her. However its body then seemed to split into several different colors, each of the 'clones', more like after-images really, suddenly launched forward and swiped at her. Moving with all the quickness she could muster Aqua avoided the creature's clones and then raised her keyblade to let loose a blast of thunder on the creature.

The creature let loose a howl of pain only to shake it's head and then lunge at her in a charge. _'Time to end this!'_ she decided firmly and lunged forward with a roar. She slashed at the Dark Hide and caused it to give a pained howl. It fell to the ground and flipped over itself only to right itself onto its paws. Aqua landed a moment later and turned back to the creature and noticed a large ugly gash had been carved into its side.

 _'Why didn't it disappear like the others?'_ she wondered to herself and gripped her keyblade with both hands. The Dark Hide seemed to watch her for a moment and then looked to its wounded side and howled loudly. Aqua grit her teeth and then covered her ears with her hands. The Dark Hide then shook its head as the red glow faded from its eyes and it slowly moved backwards, slipping back into the shadows around them.

"Oh no you don't!" Aqua murmured and gave chase. She quickly ran into the depths of the darkness to look for the creature. She moved swiftly as she could; yet from above the same creature hung on a nearby patch of land by its wrist chains and watched her silently. The Dark Hide's eyes narrowed dangerously as it flipped up and onto the land and then leaned to the side and laid itself down on its good side.

 _ **'Wounds… heal… slowly… but… will… mend… in… time…'**_ it thought as it closed its bright luminescent eyes. _**'Will… find… soul… less… again… light… too… bright… too… hide… here…'**_ it thought to itself. _**'Key… take… key… does… not… belong… here…'**_ it's thoughts continued as it drifted into the comfortable darkness of sleep. When it next awakened it would be rested and its wounds would be healed…

… and then the hunt would resume!

00

 _A Fragmentary Passage_ …

00

The Dark Hide had healed and found itself running through the depths of the Realm of Darkness. It snarled as it looked all around, the remains of an old world lay before it, and the scent of the girl's light still lingered in this place. _**'Find… the… soul… less…'**_ it thought and unleashed a echoing roar. Dozens of Heartless surged towards it, Shadows and a plethora of other purebloods which all heeded a stronger Heartless' call.

The dozens of different Heartless slowly padded towards the Dark Hide. Meanwhile the much bigger, and meaner, Heartless stalked forward fully healed save for a pale strip of dark blue flesh now where the girl had wounded it. The Dark Hide saw several Dark Sides' appear and roared once more, the massive Heartless' lowered their heads in acknowledgement of its superior ability and it shook its entire body.

The many red tendrils along its body began to twitch and vibrate, sending out orders to the many other Heartless around it. _**'Find… the… light… the… soul… less… must… not… escape…'**_ the creature sent outwards to the many heartless that had gathered. The antenna and tendrils and other such things of the many heartless twitched and vibrated in kind, understanding what the superior heartless had ordered of them.

As one the dozens of Heartless slipped into dark corridors and then vanished from sight and went after the blue haired girl who held such a brilliant light. The Dark Hide itself lunged from patch of earth to patch of earth in search of the girl. It lowered its snout to the ground and inhaled the scent of her light. It let out a low growl as its eyes began to burn with a bright crimson light.

It followed the scent from conquered worlds of the light in search of the creature, the Soulless that'd invaded their realm of darkness. The Dark Hide felt every death from one of its comrades and roared in fury. It moved swiftly, deeper and deeper into the realm of darkness in search of its prey. It was a hunter on a mission and it would make the soulless intruder in their realm pay for the loss of its world and the loss of its comrades!

Finally it found itself on the most recent of the conquered lands, a lonely beach and island. The Dark Hide sniffed at the air and inhaled deeply as the scent of the soulless' light was heavy on the air. With a roar the Dark Hide padded around the island in search of the girl, in search of her light and roared in fury when it couldn't find her. However its tendrils twitched and it turned as it felt the darkness open.

 _ **'There… soul… less… is… there… special… place… hidden… place… dark… key… in… danger!'**_ it thought urgently and then leaped into the ground. It surged into the small cave beneath the massive tree on the island. Within the cave the Dark Hide spotted the now open door and moved forward with a purpose. It leaped out and ducked back into the shadows as it observed not one… but two… no wait… three Soulless?!

 _ **'They… have… dark… key… take… it… back… and… make… the… thief… pay!'**_ the creature's mind ordered and it let loose a horrible howl into the darkness. The Soulless' that were closest to it immediately turned around, however they took a step back as the Dark Hide stepped forward. One of them, the thief with the dark key, looked on in shock upon seeing it, while the other one clearly recognized it.

"The same one," Aqua whispered when she saw the dark blue gash on the Dark Hide's side. She idly saw Mickey stare at the creature with wide eyes as it slowly stalked forward, once yellow eyes glowing a burning crimson. "So have you been following me this whole time then?" she questioned of the creature. She received now answer as dark shadows began to spill out from the creature's open maw.

"Well, you're certainly tenacious, I'll give you that much," she remarked and then held her key to the side and clenched her fist on the hilt. "But this time, I'll put an end to you!" she declared and lunged at the Dark Hide. However the creature effortlessly batted her to the side and then stalked forward, eyes trained on Mickey.

"Aqua!" the mouse called out and ran to help his friend, only to gasp and leap back as the Dark Hide nearly pounced on him. He looked up with wide eyes as the Dark Hide's burning crimson eyes glared at him heatedly, almost accusingly. _'It's almost like it can actually think,'_ Mickey realized with some trepidation. From what he'd learned in Ansem the Wise's research, Heartless were mostly instinctual creatures…

But what if they'd actually found an intelligent heartless?

"Mickey!" Aqua cried as she got back up and lunged at the Dark Hide. "Hey ugly! Don't forget about me!" she called out as she leaped up in a slash, however the Dark Hide leaped back and out of the way as she came down between he creature and her friend.

"You know this Heartless?" Mickey asked quickly as the creature crouched low.

"I fought it in the dark depths, it is far and away more powerful than anything else I've seen down there," she admitted worriedly. Mickey looked back to the creature as it lunged forward in a rapid charge, both himself and Aqua leaped out of the way and to the side. The Dark Hide roared and turned on Mickey swinging its claws and lashing out with a quick and vicious assault.

"Oh no you don't," Aqua declared as she blocked it's claws with her keyblade. She dug her heels into the ground and grit her teeth as she held the creature back from her friend. "I don't get it… why is it attacking you? I'm the one that injured it!" she growled as she pushed back on her key. Mickey blinked for a moment and then looked down to the Kingdom Key D in his hand.

"The Key of Darkness!" he realized and the Dark Hide leaped back with another roar.

"What?" Aqua questioned as Mickey got back to his feet.

"That creature must think we're stealing the key!" he declared. Aqua blinked, that made sense actually… and now that she thought about it…

"But aren't we kind of doing that?" she questioned. The mouse king blinked at that and then chuckled nervously in realization.

"Oh… heh heh right," Mickey nervously gulped in response only to notice a Demon Tower of heartless surging to the side towards… Riku! "Oh no!" the mouse cried before he hurried to his young friend.

"Mickey wait!" Aqua called out as the Dark Hide lunged passed her. "Freeze!" she cried out as she sent a massive burst of ice at the creature and sent it flying to the side. The Dark Hide gave out a cry while Aqua ran forward, passed Mickey and then leaped up into the air with her key pointed to the Demon Tower. She then concentrated and a burst of energy flew from the tip of her key in the shape of chains which wrapped around the Heartless.

As she did she landed on the ground and then grunted as she tried to hold the mass of heartless at bay. She then noticed the Dark Hide heading for Mickey again and internally groaned. _'Things just can't ever be easy,'_ she mused as she swung her key to the side and slammed the chained up heartless into the much bigger one. As she did she felt the Demon Tower struggle to get free and the Dark Hide roared in fury.

"Aqua!" Mickey cried, only for the girl to grit her teeth and look back at him.

"Go without me!" she ordered firmly.

"No I…" Mickey tried to say. However at that moment the Dark Hide managed to get its teeth on the chains of light holding the Demon Tower back and ripped them away. The Demon Tower quickly escaped their bonds and picked up the Dark Hide as it surged around and then towards Mickey. The Dark Hide snarled and swung its talons at the mouse and snagged him by his shirt while the demon tower headed for Aqua.

The girl gave a startled cry as she was lifted into the air by the mass of heartless that made up the great Demon Tower. As they moved the Dark Hide snarled at a clearly terrified Mickey angrily, before the mouse's shirt ripped and he fell back to the ground. The Dark Hide snarled angrily as it and the Demon Tower surged out of the Dark World and back towards the world it'd just been on.

The last cry of 'Aqua!' from the mouse echoed on the wind as the Dark Hide leaped off of the Demon Tower. Meanwhile the bluenette fell from the demon tower and landed in a low crouch. She gave several low panting breathes as she looked up at the Demon Tower that twisted and writhed around itself as it tried to tear her apart. The Dark Hide frowned as it looked from the girl to the Dark Realm and back and then gave a howl.

 _ **'Catch... the... thief...'**_ a voice echoed in its head. But the Dark Hide turned towards the blue haired girl as she battled the Demon Tower instead. She was his prey, he'd hunted her across the depths of darkness, beyond the dark maridian, and into places few heartless dared to tread... would it abandon its hunt now, when it was oh so close?

And what of the thief... what would happen to that wily little coward now?

Catch the thief?

Or finish its prey?

It considered both, for only a moment, before it did what any heartless would.

And so the choice was made.

It leaped up and batted several Heartless away from the blue haired girl, bit down on several others and roared loudly. The red tendrils across its body vibrated and trilled with the thoughts that echoed in its mind. _**'SHE… IS… MY… PREY…'**_ it declared. The Demon Tower all but shot into the air and away from the bigger and stronger Heartless. The Dark Hide then turned and flexed its claws as it stared at the exhausted bluenette.

"Did you… do that?" she questioned through panting breaths. The Dark Hide didn't answer, instead it padded from side to side, crimson eyes narrowed on the blue haired girl. "Well… if you did… your're… kind of clingy huh," she murmured softly, "almost like… a big puppy," she remarked and then chuckled dryly. With a shake of her head she stood up and then exhaled a breath as she looked at the Dark Hide.

She held her keyblade to her side while the Dark Hide ducked back and both lunged forward with a cry. The Dark Hide swung its entire body in a clockwise slash that the girl leaped over. She then fired several fireballs into the Dark Hide's back causing it to let out a cry before it leaped away. The massive Heartless narrowed its crimson eyes and leaped into the air and sent its chains surging into the ground and spun at the girl.

However she sidestepped both the chains and the living buzz saw that was the Dark Hide and pointed her key at it. "Alright then boy, lets put a leash on you!" she cried out as a flash of light came from her key and a number of chains of light wrapped around the Dark Hide. The creature roared and struggled as it was crushed into a ball. Aqua grit her teeth as the creature fought to maintain control of the creature.

[ _ **Now is the time Sochi,**_ ] a soft voice within the Dark Hide declared. It then roared in pain as it felt something pull its way out of its back. [ _ **Break my bonds,**_ ] the voice of a woman whispered as a taloned hand ripped its way out of the Dark Hide's back. [ _ **Set me free,**_ ] the voice continued as yet another hand tore its way out of its body. The Dark Hide roared in pain and thrashed even harder against its bonds while Aqua gaped in shock.

"W-What's happening?" she questioned and then grit her teeth and held onto the chains more firmly.

[ _ **And forever more,**_ ] the same voice echoed in the Dark Hide's mind as the hands gripped the chains of light and a feminine body pulled itself free. [ _ **I will protect thee!**_ ] the final declaration came as the feminine body pulled itself out of the Dark Hide and floated in the air above it. Aqua took a quick look up towards the new Heartless, but only got a quick glance before the Dark Hide's struggles renewed.

The new heartless had the shape of a woman, but with inky black skin, sharp talons on its hands, red marks from its wrists to its barbed elbows, and a heart shaped hole cut out of its sternum. Its 'eyes' were the large bug like yellow eyes of most heartless, with a glowing crimson Glasgow grin for its mouth, and nine crimson tendrils that looked like jagged 'tails' came off of its head. Rather than legs the new Heartless had a ghostly 'tail' that made up the majority of its lower body. ( _ **Pureblood Heartless: The Shade**_ …)

"What is that thing?" Aqua questioned softly. She'd never seen this new Heartless before, and then she noticed the chains wrapped around its wrists. The Heartless itself tightly gripped the black barbed chains in its hands and then pulled back with a grunt of exertion. Aqua thus watched as the chains suddenly went taut and the Dark Hide gave an even greater roar of pain as they pulled on it.

The blue haired girl grit her teeth as she had to focus even harder on holding the bigger heartless at bay as the smaller one tugged on the chains binding it's wrists to the much bigger heartless. The smaller Heartless narrowed its eyes, an almost literal fire burning in the bright yellow gold glow of its eyes. _**"DATTEBANE!"**_ it exclaimed as it pulled one final time and the Dark Hide began to dissolve onto the ground.

Seeing this, Aqua dismissed her chains and leaped back from the flow of darkness as it spilled onto the ground. The Dark Hide quickly formed into a black puddle while the exhausted Aqua watched on silently. She then looked up as the strange Heartless lowered itself down and then narrowed its eyes. It gripped its chains once more and then shot into the air with a heave, much to the bluenette's confusion.

"What… what is it doing?" she wondered to herself. She then stepped back as she watched the chains begin to move. Slowly, ever so slowly, the chain links were pulled upwards by the ghostly heartless. Aqua took several more steps back as she watched a hand come from the dark pool, slowly followed by an arm, a head, then a torso, and of course finally a pair of legs.

With one last grunt of exertion the ghostly Heartless sat the figure down on its feet. However it then fell forward to its knees and its torso leaned back. A massive heart shaped hole in its sternum plainly visible, yet slowly closing back up. The ghostly Heartless then lowered itself to the masculine figure while Aqua studied it with ever narrowing eyes.

It was a male, around her height, and dressed in an almost organic looking black and white suit. The white wrapped around its forearms, the muscles of his chest and abs, over its groin, knees, and boots while the rest was black. Over the suit he wore a brown leather belt with a pair of leather suspenders hanging from the sides and a large pouch at the back of his waist, a black 'half-skirt' with tattered white edges also hung from the belt with white straps in an X shape holding it closed.

The strange young man also wore armor in the shape of sharp metal claws that lined his fingers, heart shaped pauldrons over his shoulders with smaller plates lining his shoulders beneath them, black leather wrapped over its chest in a prominent X, heart shaped plates lining it's spine. Last was a helmet, which was vaguely crown-shaped with a sharp pointed chin and black glass to conceal his face from view.

 _'That armor,'_ Aqua thought to herself. It looked so familiar; she blinked and then grasped the side of her head. Within the depths of her mind, visions of a young man in similar black and white organic armor flooded forward. _'But where do I know him from?'_ she wondered to herself. She could recall a masked boy, but his armor had been different, not only in color but design as well… and yet…

She suddenly took a step back as she felt a horrible darkness rise from the boy and surge up into the sky. The darkness seemed to warp twist and spiral around the armored youth. His fingers idly twitched at his sides while the hole in his sternum slowly sealed up. The Shade formed itself behind him, one hand on his shoulder as she watched Aqua carefully as the darkness began to seep into the hole at the armored youths sternum.

"Such a terrible darkness," she whispered as she held her hands to block the dark wind. She then watched as the youth lifted his head, placed his hands onto the ground, and slowly pushed his way up onto his feet. He was unsteady at first, only to slowly right himself and find his balance. He swayed from side to side for a moment and then allowed his head to loll to the side…

And then she heard the eerie grinding noise from the armored youth.

Aqua watched in morbid fascination as the helmet began to twitch inhumanly, its fingers spread and it slowly grasped at its head while clearly in pain. The armored youth then unleashed an inhuman howl as its helmet snapped open like terrible jaws, leaving the now broken glass of its mask to form into sharp teeth. Dark energy rolled off of the armored youth in waves as he slowly lowered into a bestial pose.

"I don't know what you are," Aqua breathed as she formed Master Keeper into her hand and swung it to the side. "But I can tell for a fact that its dangerous," she declared just as the armored youth lunged forward with a roar. Aqua gasped and ducked to the side as the bestial armored youth lashed out with a vicious slash of its claws. The bluenette dropped into a roll and then flipped up and cast a bolt of Ice at him.

The bolt of ice slammed into the armored youth and sent him flying back as the bluenette landed on her feet. The armored youth flew back only to right itself in the air and land against a far wall. It gave a furious howl as black tail like tendrils burst out from the back of its helmet, looking much like the tendril hair of The Shade as they wafted and waved behind the armored figure's head, while its 'boots' formed into sharp talons on its feet.

 _'Odd, they kind of look alike,'_ Aqua mused as she looked from the armored youth to the Shade. She also noted that 'The Shade' looked at the armored youth as if horrified by its sudden drastic transformation. _'How a 'Heartless' can look horrified is beyond me, but she's somehow pulling it off,'_ the bluenette admitted to herself. She then watched as the armored youth leaped from the wall.

It soared through the air for a few moments before suddenly ducking down and seemingly dropped into the ground itself. Aqua watched on cautiously only to leap back as the armored youth launched himself out of the ground. The bluenette looked up and watched the armored youth as he paused in midair and then launched himself at her from the air once more.

Aqua gasped and quickly rolled out of the way as the armored youth slammed into the ground… only he didn't. Instead a pool of darkness formed where the ground should have been and he entered it safely. 'How?' she wondered to herself and then quickly leaped out of the way as the armored youth leaped out of the ground at her once more. _'There's no time to think on it now, I have to keep moving!'_ she decided firmly.

She cartwheeled to the side to avoid the armored youth's next leap and lunge, and then leaped back as it formed under her again. She landed on her feet and fired an icy burst from the tip of her keyblade into the armored youth's side a moment later. The white / black Heartless let out a pained cry as it was knocked to the side. It flipped in midair to land on all fours and let out a bestial howl.

 _'Well at least that puts a stop to…'_ Aqua began to think only to pause. The armored youth's howl echoed across the island, and darkness began to wrap around its body as it rose up into the air. _'Of course it couldn't be that easy,'_ the bluenette thought exasperatedly. The armored youth wrapped its arms around itself as a sphere of black energy formed around its body and began to pulse.

 _'I've got a bad feeling about this,'_ Aqua thought to herself. A moment later dozens of blasts of darkness shot from the sphere around the armored youth and converged on the bluenette. _'I hate it when I'm right,'_ Aqua thought before she formed a reflective barrier to knock the dark orbs back at the armored youth. Unfortunately it was less than effective as a result of the dark bubble around him.

Aqua grit her teeth and watched how the dark orbs interacted with the dark bubble, her eyes narrowed in concentration. _'They don't seem to do any kind of damage to his shield, darkness begets darkness so reflecting them back at him is probably making the bubble even stronger,'_ she decided after a moment of thought. _'Meaning it'll take light to knock him out of there,'_ she realized and took a quick breath.

She swiftly dropped her barrier and then lunged to the side in a sprint while concentrating on the armored youth and his bubble of darkness. _'Only going to get one shot at this,'_ the bluenette decided as she batted several dark orbs away and aimed her keyblade at the armored youth. With a pulse of her inner light she sent a volley of spheres of light at the armored youth, shattering his bubble of darkness and knocking him out of the air.

The armored youth fell for only a moment before it righted itself in the air and landed on all fours again. With a roar of outrage it then ducked down and began to pulse. Soon enough the armored youth launched itself at Aqua swiping and clawing at the bluenette with erratic attacks. _'No pattern,'_ Aqua noted as she moved around the attacks and tried to slash the armored youth, only for him to leap back and into the air.

The armored youth then dropped into a crouch and lunged at the girl yet again. It moved in erratic patterns in the air as it then tried to slam into her, only for her to form a barrier between herself and the armored youth. However the feral creature gave a shrill shriek as it moved around and behind her and started to rapidly swipe at her barrier. _'It's so fast!'_ Aqua noted as she grit her teeth to keep the armored youth at bay for as long as she could.

 _'Just got to wait for an opening,'_ she told herself as she watched the creature hop and bob around her barrier. It jabbed its claws into the barrier of light again and again in an attempt to pierce through it and reach the girl. _'Now!'_ Aqua thought as she finally spotted an opening to attack. She ducked under a wild slash from the armored youth and then swung her keyblade up and sent him flying back.

The armored youth spun as it flew back, only to pause in midair and drop back to the ground. Its tendril like hair began to twitch and writhe before it let loose a roar as a pool of darkness began to form on the ground beneath them. _'What is,'_ Aqua began to question only to swiftly form a reflective barrier as a mass of chains shot from the pool of darkness and into her.

However unlike the dark orbs from before the numerous chains managed to knock her and her barrier back, dispelling it as they tried to impale the girl. She swiftly lunged out of the way of the chains and then ran towards the armored youth, only to slide to a halt as the chains pulled a U turn to block her path and then shot down at her. Thinking quickly Aqua flipped back in order to avoid the chains.

 _'No!'_ the girl realized as the chains suddenly split and started to come at her from all sides. _'Terra,'_ she thought as she formed a barrier and knelt down and grit her teeth in concentration. _'Ven,'_ she continued as tears stung at her eyes. _'Master Eraqus… Mickey,'_ she thought as the chains suddenly weaved together and spiraled into her barrier like multiple drills.

The blue haired master looked up when she heard a crack and watched as the sheer force behind the dark chains slowly broke into her barrier. _'Looks like this is the end of the road for me,'_ she noted and then gripped the hilt of her key tightly. However before they could shatter her barrier she saw something strange, several more dark chains reached out and pulled the others back, while also revealing the armored youth as well.

 _'It's the other one!'_ Aqua realized as she saw The Shade pull the armored youth back. As it did, Aqua also saw the feminine heartless look directly at her. _'Is it… helping me?'_ she wondered to herself. The creature then maneuvered her hand to point at the heart-shaped hole in the armored youth's sternum. _'What is it… she… trying to tell me?'_ the bluenette wondered before she gripped her keyblade and closed her eyes.

 _'I don't know what you want, so I'll just let my heart be my guide,'_ she decided as she exhaled softly. As she did The Shade let out a grunt as it held the armored youth back and looked at it pleadingly, only for it to snarl and roar like a rabid beast. Aqua ignored the duo of struggling heartless, instead her hands tightened around her keyblade and then she focused, light gathered at the tip of her key.

A moment later light bloomed from the end of her key and shot forward, it shot through the open heart at The Armored Youth's sternum and out of the Shade's. Both Heartless froze when she did, and a glowing love heart bloomed behind the pair of them. The chains from Aqua's keyblade wrapped around the back of the love heart and pulled it down through the hole in The Shade and into the one in armored youth's sternum.

Aqua dug her heels into the sand of the beach as a bright aura of light suddenly wrapped around the armored youth and The Shade. The female heartless seemed to fade, sinking into the armored youth who slowly changed back to his humanoid form and the heart shaped hole at his sternum vanished. Aqua grit her teeth as she pulled back on her Keyblade, hurling the armored youth back and causing her to fall back as well.

Aqua's key flew from her grip and landed off to the side while the armored youth was laid out, his helmet flying off and fading into the shadows. Aqua lay on the beach, the sound of waves crashing against the sandy beach a soothing backdrop. She breathed heavily and closed her eyes, slowly regaining control of her breathing. Her heart slowed and her eyes slowly opened to greet the sky.

"It's beautiful," she whispered with a small smile. She watched the clouds churn and move above her for a time. Then watched as they began to fade and the boundless sky filled with stars was revealed to her instead. "The stars are out," she remarked, then closed her eyes. "Terra, Ven…" she murmured with a soft sigh, only to notice one of the armored youth's boots to the side.

"Just me… and you," she admitted to herself. She then paused and looked back up as bright glowing orbs began to rain from the sky. "They did it. The worlds are being restored," she noted aloud. She then saw the island begin to vanish, turning into glowing sparks of light. She smiled and closed her eyes as the light pulled the land from beneath her and dropped her back into the darkness.

She briefly reached for her keyblade, yet sighed softly when the Master Keeper didn't respond. _'Back to the realm of light for it I guess,'_ she thought and then saw the armored youth fall beside her. However her thoughts grinded to a halt when she saw a blond haired boy, one who looked vary familiar. _'Ven?'_ she wondered with a blink. She then shook her head when she noticed the three distinct whiskers on his cheeks.

 _'No… he's not Ven… I think,'_ she thought and then turned and 'swam' towards the armored youth. _'But he looks so much like Ven,'_ she acknowledged to herself as she got a better look at his face. _'Well, if Ven were a little older anyways,'_ she admitted with a small smile. _'I wonder if he has something to do with Ven, some connection I'm not seeing,'_ she considered. Aqua reached out for the blond haired youth as they continued to fall.

He slipped out of her grasp a time or two, before she grabbed his hand and pulled him in close. She wrapped her arms around the silent, sleeping blond and couldn't help but smile. _'He's… sleeping? Through all this?'_ she noted with a shake of her head. "Such a hopeless sleepy head," she remarked fondly. She then pulled him close, placing her chin on his shoulder as they both fell into the depths of the darkness.

 _'Even if you aren't somehow connected to Ven, it'd be nice to have some company in the darkness this time,'_ she thought to herself. _'So I'll fall back into shadow… but at least this time, I wont be alone,'_ she thought as she closed her eyes. "May our hearts be our guiding key," she whispered softly, eyes closed as they both faded into the depths of oblivion together…

00

In the depths of the darkness, well beyond the dark margin, lay worlds yet undiscovered by the warriors of the realm of light. One such world briefly saw a brilliant flash of light over it as a pair of teenagers fell from the darkness. This wide world, once grand and beautiful, was now forever cloaked in midnight. The once bustling streets left hollow and abandoned, while the buildings were left in disrepair and ruin.

As the two teens fall towards the ground, a familiar shadowy creature appears behind the boy, forming black chains that stretch from her back and catch on several of the buildings. The chains slow their descent, and then allow them to land upon the ground gently. The Shade then smiles as it disappears, back into the shadow of the armored youth, leaving him and Aqua resting upon the ground.

Yet above them stands a familiar black-cloaked figure.

"Man that turned out better than I possibly could've imagined," he remarked as he looked out over the darkened world. "Boy this place has seen better days," he noted with a scratch of the side of his head. "But no matter," he stated with a clap of his hands. He then hopped from his perch and dropped towards the ground, only to vanish in a sudden flash and reappear standing over the two teens.

"Hmmm," he murmured as he dropped down to one knee. He looked from Aqua, to the blond haired boy, Naruto, with a curious gaze. "Yep, I think these two will do just nicely," he stated with a nod of his head. That said he stood back up and turned around with an animated lift of his right leg. He then proceeded to fold his hands behind his back and march off with a hum.

"Now I just need to set up a few things to put 'em on track," he stated with a nod of his head. He then looked up to the star filled sky and shook his head. "Light and dark are but two sides of the same coin," he stated in a deadly serious tone. "When one has grown beyond control, so too does the other, by sealing the door of darkness, they have but delayed the inevitable," he stated as he marched through the darkened world.

"If ever the worlds are to be truly returned to peace, and restored to their former glory, then first the balance must be restored!" he stated firmly, his fists tightly clenched together behind his back. "I see this through, no matter what it may cost me," he whispered and then looked back to the midnight sky. His eyes dimmed within the shadows of his hood as he gazed upon the star filled sky silently.

"The door may be closed, but it can also be opened by one with the right tools," he stated as he raised his hands towards the sky. "The light has many champions gathering to defend it, and so the darkness will need warriors of its own to challenge them," he stated. "Warriors to match the light, warriors to restore the balance," he stated with a nod of his head, and then opened a dark corridor.

"If I must make these warriors myself, I shall do so, if I must lead the worlds down a dark path to restore the balance, then I shall do so without regret," he remarked as he stepped into the dark corridor. "For when everything is said and done, they may just see me as a villain, and I will gladly bear that burden," he whispered as a dark corridor opened before him, "Just so long as my end goal is achieved," he intoned softly, and a pair of blue green cat-like eyes opened in the darkness of his hood…

 **ERROR** () _Day_ () **ERROR** () _break_ () **ERROR** () _Town_ () **ERROR**

( _ **NocTurnal RuIns**_ …)

TBC…

AN: Hello guys, did you miss this? Well, It's baa-aack! And as you can see, it's been given a major upgrade / overhaul just like Red-X Redux. Now I'm sure a lot of people will complain that I didn't update the original, but honestly I felt like a few things in it just needed to be fixed. It also doesn't hurt that I've played KH x and a few of the other games and they gave me a butt-ton of ideas that simply wouldn't have worked in the original version of this story.

This story accomplishes that for the most part, already even. One of the big things, Naruto and Aqua as a pairing wouldn't have worked in the original, here I'm sticking 'em together early on so that can actually develop over time. I also decided to tone down how everyone tended to confuse Naruto for Ventus; his age and whisker marks aren't exactly subtle after all and it felt kind of shoehorned in. I also gave Naruto his 'white' seeker armor from the get go, and the female version of 'The Shade' because I only changed them when I did because I preferred those designs. It also helps that I didn't want to make Naruto a 'clone' of Vanitas or The Shade into Xehanort's Guardian Heartless. Also don't worry, Naruto will get his Keyblade soon enough, this was just the prologue after all…

Also, I made Naruto the 'final boss' of KH0.2 A Fragmentary Passage. Why I'm sure at least a few of you are asking? Because I felt it more appropriate for Aqua's final struggle to be against one of the most powerful purebloods, rather than her fighting the Heartless Swarm / Demon Tower again.

As a side note, the Dark Hide and 'Armored Youth' Heartless' that Naruto turns into, most of the attacks it used are things Naruto will eventually learn how to do on his own.

Also, the 'cover art' for this story feature Naruto in a new set of clothes he'll get in the next chapter and be using for the majority of this story… or until I decide to alter them, which isn't actually likely this time around. I actually really like the design for Naruto's outfit, and given I did it a long time back, it's probably going to stay.

That said, do not expect regular updates, as has been shown by my... less than stellar track record as of late I'm prone to slacking off in regards to my fanfics. Mostly due to work related issues, or me getting a new game, or really just about anything that happens to steal my time from working on one of my usual fics. I won't promise greatness, but I will at least try to get back into the swing of things... maybe...

That said, till next time! Ciao!


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